Apprentice
by noisedrifter
Summary: On one fine day in Shibusen, Maka and Soul are assigned to look after four students that have just enrolled into the academy. However, when these four new students are trouble-making, stubborn, or just beyond irritating, how long will the two new mentors last? (Better summary to come soon!) SoulxMaka, MakaxOC, some OCxOCs, and another MakaxOC
1. Chapter 1: New Kids on the Block

"Maka Albarn and Soul Eater, please come to the office immediately. Maka Albarn and Soul Eater, please come to the office immediately," the P.A. announced.

Black Star laughed loudly, "Maka's in trouble! Maka's in trouble!"

"Soul, what did you drag Maka into?" Kid sighed.

Pursing her lips, Maka protested, "I'm not in trouble. I didn't even do anything."

Soul just snorted and said, "Whatever I did, it didn't involve her."

Again, the P.A. announced, "Maka Albarn and Soul Eater, please come to the office immediately."

Groaning in annoyance, Soul got up from his seat and looked at Maka. He nodded his head at her and motioned towards the door. "Let's get this over with."

Maka could only sigh and follow her partner down the hall. During her walk to the office, she racked her brain to find reasons why she was being called to meet with Lord Death. It could be an award for something, but that didn't explain why Soul had to come along with her. Maybe it was an award congratulating the pair? But if it were an award, it could wait until after class. What was going on? Meanwhile, Soul strutted down the hallway without a care in the world. To anyone passing him, he must have looked like he was going to his class or the bathroom instead of meeting with the principal.

When the meister and weapon entered the office, both were surprised to find four other teenagers standing in the office. Maka looked around and it appeared to be that Lord Death was not present. Then, the figures before her piqued her interest, so she decided to check them out.

A boy with light gray, practically white, eyes had his hands jammed in his hoodie, which was sleeveless and bright red with the words "Crank it!" in a blue that was very noticeable and dark but not very rich and deep. His strawberry blonde hair was cut to the length of a buzz cut but was not so uniformly cut. Torn-up, faded gray skinny jeans with chains hanging off to the side suited him nicely, along with his red converse. His right ear had a piercing through the cartilage with two chains, one white silver and one onyx black, attaching to the piercing his right earlobe. On his left ear, he had a piercing through the cartilage.

The girl with the light blue bandana on her head next to him had her short red hair up in a small ponytail and let her bangs fall on her forehead. She appeared to have something black smudged on her cheek, but she hadn't bothered to wipe it off. A white tank top fitted her figure nicely, but the baggy, pale blue-gray pants riddled with faded black stains did not do her justice. Like Maka, she had green eyes, but hers seemed to be a shade lighter than Maka's eyes. She seemed to be wearing black rubber boots. If Maka observed a bit more closely, she could see an ear piercing through her right ear cartilage.

However, the other girl appeared to be the exact opposite of the girl whom Maka first observed. This girl had long, flowing, wavy brunette hair, and her big eyes were cerulean blue, a shade reminiscent of the sea. However, what really made her stand out was her frilly white and pink dress and her light pink shoes, accentuated by her white tights, that resembled ballet shoes and were tied along her ankles by light pink ribbons. Though her shoes had to be at least three inches tall, she was shorter than any of the others in the room.

In comparison, the boy next to her was taller than anyone in the room, beating the other boy by a good two inches. Unlike the others, his style was very calm, simple, and composed. The boy had pitch black eyes and hair that was just as dark. His bangs were cut just before they reached his eyebrows. Along with his open gray plaid vest, he had a white button-up collar shirt that had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The second button was undone, revealing his collar bone and some of his chest. His jeans were a simple denim blue, and his shoes were dark brown Doc Martens. The last component to his appearance was his black-framed glasses.

"Hey," Soul whispered. "What's going on?"

Maka rolled her eyes and replied quietly, "How should I know? I have about just as much knowledge about this as you do."

"Maka! Soul! Yo!" a familiar, old voice rang out. All of the people in the room turned around only to find Lord Death in their midst. Giving all of them a peace sign, he greeted, "What's up?"

"Lord Death, why have you called me and Soul here?" Maka asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh-ho, you're a sharp tack as always," Lord Death chuckled. "Well, first of all, I'd like to introduce a few kids to you." Motioning to his right, he said, "This spunky-looking boy is Tremor, and the girl with the bandana is Gear." Then he looked to left. "The girl in the dress is Echo, and the boy over here in the vest is Vibrato." After he introduced the four new people, he told the two familiar students, "Well, I'm glad that now everyone knows each other!"

"Whoa, wait, hold up," Soul said, trying to process what was going on. "Why are you introducing us to them? Why did you call us here?"

The old soul laughed and replied, "I was just getting to that. You see, Soul and Maka, these four are new students to Shibusen, but they are not enrolling into the beginner class. Actually, I think that they would fit better in your class, so here's the deal: I want you two to be mentors to this kids. Take care of them and all, you know? Show 'em around, help them if they need up, maybe be their friends-"

"Wait a minute, skull-face," the spunky-looking kid called Tremor interjected. "I don't need a guide or whatever. I'm not blind so I don't need a dog to lead me around." The boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey!" Maka yelled. "Show some more respect, uh, Tremor. He's our principal, got that?"

Rolling his eyes, Tremor yawned. "Whatever, flattie."

Now that just irked her. "MAKA CHOP!" A strong hand came down on the boy's head.

"OW! What the hell's your problem?" Tremor yelled, rubbing his head.

The girl beside him, Gear, rolled her eyes. "If you would just watch your mouth more often, there won't be any more problems."

"What'd you say?" Tremor roared. Then, when Soul snickered at the whole situation, Tremor turned to him. "What're you laughing at? You wanna go, man?"

Shooting the loud boy a glare, Soul replied coolly, "I don't indulge idiots."

Before Tremor could retort, the boy on the other side of Lord Death named Vibrato sighed, "As much as I hate to agree with this immature child, Lord Death, I'd rather not have a guide." He looked at Soul and Maka with expressionless eyes. "Echo and I can handle ourselves just fine." The girl next to Vibrato, Echo, just twiddled her thumbs and remained silent.

"Well, kids," Lord Death began. "I can't let this one slide. You may think that you're better off alone, but I think otherwise; therefore, my word is law! Now off with you, class has already started." And with that, he sent them out of his office and into the hall.

After a few quiet moments, Maka spoke up. "So…shall we walk you guys to class?"

"Pfft!" Tremor snorted. "Gear and I can go by ourselves!"

"Um," Gear began to say. "Tremor, do you even know where to go?" Tremor paused and remained silent.

Vibrato sighed. "Echo, come on. Let's follow them."

The girl merely nodded and loosely grabbed the tail of Vibrato's shirt.


	2. Chapter 2: Fight! Fight! Fight!

Much to the new students' dismay, they ended up following their seniors. Tremor trudged in a cocky fashion with his hands still jammed in the pocket of his hoodie shirt as Gear tagged along beside him, humming a little. Observing the hallway as they walked by, Vibrato walked quietly while Echo trailed behind him, still holding the tail of his shirt. As other students passed the new students, the students noticed them with interest, especially the girls that smiled and giggled at Tremor and Vibrato.

"Oh my gosh, that guy with the piercings looks so cool," one of the girls whispered.

"That guy with the vest is totally my type," another added.

"Hey, I haven't seen them around before. The girls, too. Are they new? Why are they following Soul and Maka?"

Arrogantly, Tremor grinned and snickered, "Barely an hour in this place and I've already made a presence." At this, both Soul and Maka rolled their eyes.

Feeling a tug on his shirt, Vibrato looked down only to see Echo give him a worried expression. Vibrato smiled slightly, which the whole group hadn't ever seen him do in the whole time that they had known the young man. "Don't worry, Echo. I have no interest in those girls. Let's just keep on moving." He patted her head, and in response, the girl smiled a little.

Then, Gear tapped Maka's shoulder and piped up, "Hey, are we there yet, um…"

Seeing that Gear seemed to be the most tolerable one in the group of new students, Maka smiled in a friendly way and replied, "My name is Maka. This white-haired guy next to me is Soul. Yeah, it's just a little further. Just one more door down on the right."

"Ugh," Tremor groaned. "Why is this school so frickin' huge?"

Soul scowled and said with annoyance, "Be patient. We're almost there."

When they eventually came to the classroom, Dr. Stein was in the middle of a lecture. The seats were filled with attentive students, with the exception of some kids drifting off. And of course, certain familiar students were present. At the opening of the door, the doctor and the students turned their attention to those who interrupted the lesson.

"Ah." Dr. Stein turned the screw on his head. "Soul and Maka. Those the new kids?"

"Yep," Soul groaned. Walking over to his seat, he plopped down, relieved to be free of the new students for a little while, and feeling awkward with the eyes of her peers on her, Maka quickly followed him.

"Hey," Dr. Stein said, raising his brow. "Aren't you going to introduce them to us?"

"It's okay, sir." Vibrato stepped a little forward and raised his glasses higher on his nose bridge. "We can introduce ourselves." The small smile from earlier had faded only to be replaced by his usual expressionless face.

"Yeah!" Tremor grinned. "I'm Tremor. Nice to meet ya." When he winked at a couple of girls in the corner of the classroom, they swooned a little.

Peeved, Gear elbowed him in the side, which made Tremor yelp. "I'm Gear. I hope we can get along." She smiled politely.

A little silence followed, so because he was awaiting the next introduction, Dr. Stein cleared his throat. He turned to Echo and asked, "And what's your name?" Shuffling her feet, Echo looked down shyly.

"Sorry," Vibrato interrupted. "Echo doesn't speak, but I'm sure she means 'I'm Echo. Pleased to meet you.'" Echo looked up at him and smiled approvingly.

Understanding, Dr. Stein nodded. He turned to Vibrato. "And you are?"

"Vibrato," he said simply with unreadable eyes.

The doctor waited a bit to see if Vibrato would say more, but noticing that the young man was finished with his introduction, he addressed the class, "Well, those are the new students. Kids, I'm Dr. Stein. Let's have a great school year." Gear timidly raised her hand. "Yes, Gear?"

"Um, Dr. Stein, where are we going to sit?"

He thought for a minute. "Hmmm… It seems that Maka and Soul are your mentors, so let's have…you, you, you, and you in the row below Maka and Soul's row move down to the middle front row." Groaning, those kids gathered up their things and began moving to the front row. "There. That way, you'll be close to them."

"Ugh." Soul crossed his arms on the desk.

His meister patted his back. "Come on, Soul. It won't be that bad."

Then, Soul felt a tap on his right shoulder, so he turned, seeing Black Star grinning. "Soul! Is that why you guys got called into the office?"

He sighed, "Yeah. Now we gotta take care of these new kids."

"Sucks for you," Black Star laughed.

Playfully, Soul shoved Black Star. "Shut up, man."

After giving an lecture about what the academy was and what its mission was, for the sake of his new students, Dr. Stein announced, "Okay, everyone, class dismissed!"

While Soul and Maka began packing up their things, Tremor started a conversation with Vibrato and Echo. "So, which one of you is a weapon?"

The boy with the glasses glanced coldly at him. "And what business is it of yours?"

"Whoa, chill, dude. Just asking." Putting up his hands in defense, Tremor showed him an easy-going grin.

Turning away, Vibrato replied, "I have no obligation to tell you. Let's go, Echo. Our seniors are leaving."

While Vibrato had his back turned to him, Tremor called after him, "Are you strong?" Vibrato paused and looked back without a word. "I bet you don't wanna tell me 'cause you're afraid that sooner or later, I'm going to whoop your ass."

"Tremor, stop it. What's the matter with you?" Gear asked.

Echo tugged on Vibrato's shirt, also wanting the two boys to stop talking.

However, Vibrato paid her no mind and said, "Are you telling me you want to fight?" He stared Tremor down with unreadable eyes.

Even though the tension was thick in the air and Vibrato's glare was intense, Tremor smirked, not intimidated by him. "It's not that I want to fight. It's more like I want to test out my strength. We got in this intermediate class on our first day, so isn't that telling you something? It means you're worthy to be my opponent and vice versa." Strolling over to him, Tremor smirked. "Or…am I wrong and you're just a weakling?"

"Tremor, stop!" Gear cried. "What the heck are you going on about? Let's just follow our seniors! Thanks to you, they're already gone, probably heading to the next class. If we hurry, we can probably catch them-"

Suddenly, Vibrato interrupted her rant. "You think I'm a weakling?" Hidden behind his emotionless eyes was a spark of anger.

Finally getting a reaction out of him, Tremor grinned mischievously. "Wanna prove me wrong?"

Vibrato grabbed onto Echo's hand and began to walk towards the double doors.

"What, so you're too scared after all?" Tremor taunted.

Looking back, Vibrato broke through his usual lack of emotions, turned to him, and smirked wickedly. "When we're done, I'm not helping you pay your medical bills." His eyes were swimming in seething rage, and just by looking into them, Gear and Tremor felt a chill run down their spines.

Quickly, Tremor recovered, and he chuckled, "So let's settle this outside?"

Walking once more towards the door, Vibrato replied, "Front of the school. I'm sure the faculty would not be pleased if we trashed their classroom on our first day."

* * *

After the final bell rang, Maka finally noticed something. "Hey, Soul?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are the new kids? Weren't they following us?"

He shrugged and replied, "Who gives. It's their own fault that they couldn't keep up with us."

Maka groaned, "Soul, I'm not that pleased with our situation either, but Lord Death gave us a responsibility."

But just as Maka was talking to Soul, they began overhearing interesting conversations.

"Hey, there's a fight going on!"  
"Really? Where?"

"In the front of school!"

Pausing for a bit, Soul just sighed. "Well, it's probably just Black Star and some poor sap."

"Look, it's the new kids! They're fighting outside!"

Maka's eyes widened. "Soul, we have to stop them!"

With just a hint of worry in his eyes, Soul dismissed her. "Who cares? So one will beat the other up, the other will probably get knocked out, and we'll all get to go home. Problem solved."

Frustrated, Maka stormed over to the door and called, "You're an idiot. Like I said, Lord Death gave us a responsibility. If we let them do whatever they wanted like getting into fights, we will be the first ones to get a punishment. Now, come on!"

Sighing, Soul trudged over and followed her. "You just don't want your perfect record getting soiled…"

Meanwhile, outside, Tremor and Vibrato stood on opposite sides of schoolyard. On Tremor's side stood Gear, and on Vibrato's side stood Echo. Both of the girls were trying desperately to talk the boys out of the fight. Students began to pour out of the building and gather around them. As Echo kept on tugging on Vibrato's shirt and mouthing out pleas, Gear protested, "Tremor, stop! We don't have to fight! In fact, we shouldn't. Can't you go through one day without causing trouble?"

Tremor growled, "Shut up, Gear." He looked at his opponent. "Let's make a deal. We'll show you our weapon first, and then you'll follow. Okay?"

"Well, it's inevitable to show you since we'll be fighting anyway." Then, Vibrato smirked devilishly. "And how about I give you a handicap? When you show us your weapon, we'll let you attack first." At this, Echo tugged violently at Vibrato's shirt, but Vibrato just grabbed her hand and squeezed it for assurance.

The other boy just glared at him. "Fine. Gear!"

Hesitantly, she replied, "Okay…"

Suddenly, Tremor jumped up in the air and curled up in a ball, and before anyone could really tell what was going on, a motorcycle suddenly landed on the ground. Like Tremor's hoodie, the color was a bright red, and the words "Crank it!" in all caps graffiti font ran along the sides. The tailpipes and the unpainted metal were an onyx black, just like one of his piercings. Reluctantly, Gear mounted the seat.

At this moment, Soul and Maka exited the building. Upon spotting them, Black Star waved them over. Meeting up, the group became reunited with Soul, Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty.

"Guys! We have to stop them!" Maka cried.

Black Star folded his hands behind his head. "Why?"

Then, Soul put a hand on her shoulder. "Maka, how about we just let them fight it out until things get really bad?"

"But, Soul-"

Liz hushed them. "Shhh! Guys, it's starting!"

Patty began to cheer. "Crush him! Crush him!"

"Patty, who are you cheering for?" Kid asked.

"…The winner!"

"So, Vibrato, what do you think? Wanna back out?" Tremor taunted. He began revving up his engine loudly.

Sighing, Vibrato took off his glasses and tucked them in his shirt. "Just make a move already."

"You got it."

Roaring the engine, Tremor and Gear started driving towards them very rapidly. However, when they were almost halfway, Vibrato yelled, "Echo!"

In response, Echo closed her eyes. Much to everyone's surprise, the girl transformed into a black mic stand with a white microphone. Grabbing the pole, Vibrato held the stand in front of him.

Tremor laughed, "What're you gonna do? Sing us a love song?"

"Echo. Volume 20."

Without warning, an eardrum-shattering screech hit everyone like a wrecking ball. For those who could open their eyes, all they merely saw was Vibrato singing in a calm, collected manner, looking at his opponent head on. Even though the people covered their ears, it still felt as if Vibrato was screaming right into their ears. Windows shook and began to shatter, and several people began to cry in agony.

Immediately returning to his regular form, Tremor knelt and let his head fall as he clutched his ears. "Stop… Stop!" Curling up into a ball, Gear began to shriek.

Soon, the noise began to die down, and as Tremor was looking down, he began to see a pair of feet. As he looked up, he saw Vibrato holding the mic stand. "Do you know what 'vibrato' means?" Tremor gave no response, looking up at him with a shocked expression. "It means 'to vibrate.'" He threw the mic stand up in the air, only to have Echo land next to him. Turning away, he gave Tremor a venomous glare. "Don't ever call me weak. Come, Echo. It's time to go home." And with that, the pair began their descent down the stairs.

"Wow." Black Star whistled. "That kid took him down in seconds."

"Yeah… It was kind of scary," Tsubaki said shakily.

Liz grinned and squealed. "He was hot!"

As her friends, Maka plunged herself into deep thought. She wondered how he could have such enormous power when he just started in the academy only today. She was curious about his technique. However, what really piqued her interest was why he became so angry in the first place.


End file.
